Tsawwassen, Ladner and North Delta: A Guide to Delta

Delta sits between the Fraser River and Boundary Bay, with farmland, beaches and three very different communities. Here is a guide for home buyers to North Delta, Ladner and Tsawwassen, and what to know about buying on Tsawwassen First Nation lands next door.

The short version

North Delta

North Delta is the most populous of Delta's three communities, a busy area of shops, restaurants and homes that borders Surrey. The nearest SkyTrain station, Scott Road, is in Surrey.

• Watershed Park. The City calls it Delta's largest park, with eleven kilometres of gravel trails for walking, cycling and horseback riding, and a meadow with views over Mud Bay.
• Burns Bog. The City calls it the largest raised urban peat bog in North America. Most of it is protected as an ecological conservancy area and closed to the public. Visitors usually see it from the Delta Nature Reserve, but the whole reserve has been closed since early January 2026 while its boardwalk is replaced, and no reopening date has been announced, so check the City's Burns Bog website before you go.

Ladner

Ladner, which the City calls a heritage fishing village, grew up on the Fraser River around farming and salmon canning, and it is still Delta's civic centre, home to City Hall and Delta Hospital. It is also the hub of Delta's farming.

• Ladner Village and the harbour. Heritage buildings, local shops and a working harbour, with Ladner Harbour Park and a launch for paddle sports.
• Farms and birds. Westham Island has some of Delta's most popular farms, and the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, with 300 hectares of ponds, marshes and trails. Reservations are required.
• Ladner Pioneer May Days. A three-day celebration every May.

Tsawwassen

Tsawwassen is a beach town next to the U.S. border and the BC Ferries terminal, with a central shopping street and a mix of homes.

• Boundary Bay Regional Park. Beaches, dunes and more than 16 km of trails, including the dike. Boundary Bay is an Important Bird Area.
• The ferries. Sailings to Victoria (Swartz Bay), Nanaimo and the Southern Gulf Islands leave from the Tsawwassen terminal.
• Point Roberts. The Boundary Bay border crossing leads to Point Roberts, Washington.

Buying on Tsawwassen First Nation lands

Tsawwassen First Nation is a self-governing nation, not part of the City of Delta. Its treaty, the first urban treaty in BC, took effect on April 3, 2009, and the Nation is a member of Metro Vancouver. Tsawwassen Mills and new neighbourhoods have been built on its lands, which had 2,256 residents in the 2021 Census.

Homes there are leasehold. Tsawwassen First Nation stays the registered owner of the land, and you buy a leasehold interest. That changes a few things:

• Resales. Where the Nation is the registered owner, it signs the assignment of lease on a sale and a tripartite agreement with your lender on a mortgage. It asks for five clear business days and charges a fee for each document, and subleases and new homes bought from a developer follow different steps.
• The lease. Its terms set what you can do with the home, so have a lawyer review it before you remove subjects.
• Property taxes. They are paid to Tsawwassen First Nation, which offers a Home Owner Grant Equivalent in place of the provincial grant, and owners can't use the Province's property tax deferment program.
• Financing. Ask your lender early whether it finances leasehold homes, and on what terms.

Getting around

• Transit. There is no SkyTrain station in Delta. The R6 RapidBus runs along Scott Road from Scott Road Station to Newton, route 640 links Scott Road Station with Ladner Exchange, and route 301 crosses the Alex Fraser Bridge to Richmond.
• Highways. Highway 99 runs through Delta from the George Massey Tunnel toward South Surrey and the Peace Arch border crossing, Highway 17 runs to the ferry terminal, and Highway 91 crosses the Alex Fraser Bridge.
• The new tunnel. A toll-free, eight-lane immersed tube tunnel will replace the George Massey Tunnel, which opened in 1959, with transit improvements and the crossing's first walking and cycling path. Early works began in January 2026 and major construction is expected to start in 2027. In July 2026, the Province put completion at September 2031.

Schools and health care

Delta School District 37 has more than 16,000 students in 24 elementary and 7 secondary schools, and serves Ladner, North Delta, Tsawwassen and Tsawwassen First Nation. Its programs include:

• French Immersion, starting in Kindergarten or in Grade 6.
• International Baccalaureate, with the Diploma Programme at Seaquam Secondary and the Primary Years Programme at English Bluff Elementary.
• Montessori at Devon Gardens Elementary, and traditional schools at Pebble Hill and Jarvis.

You can find the schools for an address with the district's School Locator. Delta Hospital, in Ladner, has a 24-hour emergency department.

How Delta is growing

Delta adopted its new Official Community Plan in July 2024 and projects about 158,000 residents by 2051. Growth is focused in a few places:

• North Delta: the Scott Road corridor, around Nordel, and along 84 and 72 avenues.
• Ladner: in and around Ladner Village and along Ladner Trunk Road.
• Tsawwassen: the town centre and the 56 Street corridor.

Under BC's small-scale housing rules, most single-family lots in Delta can have three or four units, or up to six near frequent transit on Scott Road. In 2021, about 55% of Delta's homes were single-detached houses.

Before you buy

• Flooding. Ladner, Delta's farmland and the lower parts of Tsawwassen near Boundary Bay, such as Beach Grove, are low-lying land protected by dikes, while the higher parts of Tsawwassen and North Delta are less exposed. King tides and storm surges usually arrive between November and February, so ask about a home's elevation and flood history.
• Farmland. About 9,000 hectares, half of Delta's land base, is in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Under BC's Right to Farm Act, farmers who follow normal farm practices are protected from nuisance claims over noise, dust and odour, though neighbours can still complain to the BC Farm Industry Review Board.
• Port and airport. Roberts Bank, on the coast near Tsawwassen, is home to Canada's largest container terminal, and Boundary Bay Airport has more than 200,000 takeoffs and landings in a busy year. Visit at different times of day if noise or traffic matters to you.
• Leasehold. Confirm whether a home in Tsawwassen is on Delta land or Tsawwassen First Nation land, since it changes what you are buying.

Questions buyers often ask me

What are Delta's communities?

Delta has three: North Delta, the most populous; Ladner, a heritage fishing village and Delta's civic centre; and Tsawwassen, a beach town by the ferry terminal and the U.S. border.

Is there SkyTrain in Delta?

No. The nearest station, Scott Road, is in Surrey, and the R6 RapidBus runs along Scott Road from there to Newton.

When will the new Massey tunnel open?

In July 2026, the Province put completion at September 2031. The toll-free, eight-lane tunnel will replace the 1959 George Massey Tunnel.

Can I buy a freehold home on Tsawwassen First Nation lands?

Not in the usual sense. Homes in its residential areas are leasehold: the Nation stays the registered owner of the land, and the resale of a home leased directly from the Nation needs its signature on the lease assignment. Have a lawyer review the lease before you buy.

How much of Delta is farmland?

About 9,000 hectares, half of Delta's land base, is in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Browse homes for sale in Delta, read what you actually own when you buy, or see how BC's new zoning rules work.

Population is from the 2021 Census, and other details are from the City of Delta, Tsawwassen First Nation, TransLink, the Province and the Delta School District at the time of writing. For the City's guide, see about Delta.